WMU costs remain below state average

July 25, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University's Board of Trustees
has approved a 9.2 percent increase in tuition and required fees
along with a corresponding increase of more than $3.7 million
to the University's financial aid budget.

Acting at its July 25 meeting, the WMU board approved a tuition
increase that, coupled with a small fee increase approved earlier
in the year, will mean a full-time Michigan freshman or sophomore
will pay $7,928 to attend WMU for the 2008-09 academic year--an
increase of $668 for the year or $334 per semester. The increase
is effective with the fall 2008 semester.

"This is a decision that was necessary to keep WMU sound
and whole and able to deliver on the promise that brings students
to our campus," said Board Chair Ken Miller. "It also
is a decision that, despite the increase, will mean WMU will
maintain its position as Michigan's most affordable research
university."

Trustees approved the measure, noting that the new increase,
paired with WMU's 2007 increase that was the smallest of any
of Michigan's public universities, keeps WMU in the position
of remaining as accessible as possible to the widest range of
Michigan residents while maintaining the quality of programs
and access to top faculty members that WMU students expect. In
related action, trustees also approved a University operating
budget that includes a $3,761,275 increase to the University's
financial aid budget to help offset the prospect of financial
strain on students and their families.

"We are determined to maintain access and work with families
to keep their WMU experience as affordable as possible,"
WMU President John M. Dunn told the board as it was considering
the increase. "We also are determined to preserve the level
of quality for which WMU is known and protect the resources that
are essential for students who want the opportunities and learning
environment found at a research university. While we can and
have worked creatively to operate with revenue levels lower than
those found at smaller and less complex institutions, we cannot
serve our students or our state unless we continue to preserve
the caliber of our undergraduate and graduate programs."

Over the past two years, WMU has enacted among the lowest
increases of any of Michigan's 15 public universities, and the
lowest increases of any of the state's five research universities.
Although 2008-09 costs have not yet been set for all of Michigan's
public institutions, WMU is expected to remain among the five
or six most affordable universities in Michigan and will be the
only research university in that group. Michigan's five Carnegie-designated
research schools are WMU; Michigan State, Michigan Technological
and Wayne State universities; and the University of Michigan.

"Our focus will remain on operating within as tight a
budget as possible and finding ways to move students to graduation
in the quickest and most efficient way we can," Dunn said.
"The Western Edge, a program we adopted last year, is designed
to do just that and is attracting the attention of students and
their families because they realize the biggest savings will
come from avoiding an extra semester or an extra year of tuition
and housing while they complete a degree."

The Western Edge, announced in July 2007, is an initiative
that includes incentives to encourage students to be successful
and stay on track toward graduation. It includes a freeze on
students' entering room-and-board rates for up to four years,
a $500 incentive scholarship for students who complete 30 credits
during their first year and earn a 3.0 GPA or better, a graduation
compact designed to ensure class availability for participating
students, and a number of other advising and academic support
programs.

In outlining the need for this year's increase, Dunn pointed
to a number of contributing factors, and he laid out the steps
the University has already taken to contain costs and reduce
its annual operating budget. He noted that WMU and the rest of
Michigan's public universities will receive a 1 percent increase
in state appropriations for 2008-09 at a time when the overall
inflation rate is rapidly escalating.

WMU, Dunn noted, has enacted budget reductions of more than
$50 million since 2002, resulting in a 19 percent cumulative
budget reduction across the university. In addition, over the
past decade, WMU has avoided more than $18 million in new energy
expenditures through aggressive energy savings initiatives. Administrative
overhead at WMU, Dunn pointed out, is the second lowest among
Michigan universities.

"We will continue to save and streamline our operations
in any way possible, as long as those efforts do not harm our
core mission of providing opportunities for our students to be
successful," Dunn said.

Details of the newly enacted cost structure can be found at
www.wmich.edu/tuition.
It includes a tuition flat rate of $3,610 per semester for lower-division
WMU undergraduates, along with per-semester full-time student
fees of $354. The new fee structure includes a $9 per semester
student assessment fee increase approved by trustees in April.
That increase was approved at the request of the WMU Student
Association after a campuswide student referendum approved the
request.